Murray Wood: Happy Sportsmas! It's like Christmas right now for sports fans
Between the red-hot Saskatchewan Roughriders, the Toronto Blue Jays and the start of the new NHL season, Murray Wood say...
The Saskatchewan Roughriders added some depth to their special teams Monday by bringing back a punter they traded only one month ago.
On Monday, the CFL team sent a third-round pick in the 2023 global draft to the Calgary Stampeders for punter Jimmy Smith.
Saskatchewan traded Smith to Calgary on June 5 for that global draft pick as well as a seventh-round selection in the 2023 CFL draft. The Roughriders will keep the seventh-round draft pick but will return the global selection to the Stamps.
The 6-foot-5, 235-pound Smith played three games with Calgary, punting 18 times for a 44.2-yard average. Roughriders punter Kaare Vedvik has averaged 44.3 yards on 24 punts in four games this season.
But Vedvik also has experience as a placekicker, which could be part of the reason for the trade. Brett Lauther was injured on a kickoff in the latter stages of Saskatchewan’s 41-20 victory over the Montreal Alouettes on Saturday at Mosaic Stadium.
If Lauther can’t go Friday against the visiting Ottawa Redblacks, the Roughriders may be considering using Smith as their punter and holder and allowing Vedvik to focus on handling placements.
The Roughriders are to return to the practice field Tuesday.
